Apparatus for dispensing and semi-wrapping unwrapped food particles



Feb. 21, 1967 J. o. PARKERy 3,304,691

APPARATUS FOR DISPENSING AND SEMI-WRAPPING UNWRAPPED FOOD PARTICLES11'07222/ 0. Parez",

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Feb. 21, 1967 1.0. PARKER APPARATUS FOR DISPENSING AND SEMI-WRAPPINGUNWRAPPED FOOD PARTICLES Filed July 22, 1964 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 zii-9.4.

Feb. 21, 1967 J. o. PARKER 3,304,691

APPARATUS FOR DISPENSING AND SEMI-WRAPPING UNWRAPPED FOOD PARTICLESFiled July 22, 1964 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Feb. 21, 1967 3,304,691APPARATUS FOR DISPENSING AND SEMI-WRAP- PIN G UNWRAPPED F001) PARTICLESJohn 0. Parker, Spring St., Marion, Mass. 02738 Filed July 22, 1964,Ser. No. 384,369 8 Claims. (Cl. 53-183) The present invention relates todispensers for particles, particularly such unwrapped food particles ascandies, chewing gum, popcorn, and peanuts.

The use of coin-operated dispensers for such unwrapped food products, asthose to which reference has been made, is wide spread. Such dispensersdicharge a predetermined number of particles, sometimes, as is the casewith chewing gum, a single piece. The particle or particles `aredelivered by some dispensers into the purchasers hands and by otherdispensers into a receiver and removal thereof entails digital contactboth with the delivered particle or particles and the receiver. Suchdispensers are patronized most commonly by children in age groups havinglittle or -no appreciation of the necessity of lcleanliness and ofavoiding the contamination of food and, accordingly, existing dispensersmust be regarded as presenting a real possibility of either being orbecoming unsanitary.

The principal objective of the present invention is to providedispensers in which unwrapped particles are delivered on a length ofpaper or other protective layer enabling them to be easily handledwithout risk of contamination either by manual Contact or contact withthe receiver.

In accordance with the invention, this objective is attained with adispenser provided with a paper roll, a receiver, means to draw paperfrom the roll and to deliver a length thereof to the receiver, `andmeans to discharge a single particle or a plurality of particles ontothe delivered length. A gate blocks access to the delivered length andmeans operable by the opening of the gate separates the delivered lengthfrom the roll.

A particular objective of the invention is to provide that the paperwithdrawing means is operative to so fold the vdelivered lengththatritis a particle supporting and conriingchannel Another particularobjective of the invention is toA provide that the paper withdrawingmeans includes a rotatable member, that the particle delivering meansalso includes a rotatable member and that the dispenser has a driveincluding a driving connection between those two members.

Another particular objective of the invention is to provide the drivefor the paper withdrawing means `and the particle delivering means witha unit having two independently rotatable elements connectable by a discof predetermined dimensions, a coin, for example, to permit the drive tobe operated only to the extent that the rotatable member of the particledelivery means is turned from a particle receiving position into aposition discharging particles on a delivered length of the paper.

In the accompanying drawings, there is shown an illustrative embodimentof the invention from which these and other of its objectives, novelfeatures, and advantages will be readily apparent.

In the drawings:

FIGURE l is a front perspective view of a dispenser in accordance withthe invention,

FIGURE 2 is a side view thereof on an increased scale,

FIGURE 3 is a top plan View, the cover being removed,

FIGURE 4 is a section taken approximately along the indicated lines 4 4of FIGURE 3,

FIGURE 5 is a section taken approximately `along the indicated lines 5-5of FIGURE 3,

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary side view of the dispenser with the side wallbroken away to show the coin-0perated unit of the drive, and

FIGURE 7 is a section taken approximately along the indicated lines 7 7of FIGURE 3.

The dispenser shown in the drawings has a housing 10 provided with acover 11 and having an end port 12 permitting access to a receiver 13when the gate 14 is raised. The receiver 13 is shown as of V-shapedcross section and extends rearwardly under the dispensing rotor 15 withits front secured to the sides of the housing 10 and with its rear endattached to a V-shaped cross member 16 having a transverse slot 17extending vertically therethrough.

A shaft 18, rotatably supported at the rear of the housing 1t) by thesides thereof, has a roll of paper stock 19 detachably attached thereto.The paper stock 19 is a relatively wide strip or band and is fed betweenfeed rolls 20 and 21 carried by shafts 22 and 23, respectively,rotatably supported by the sides of the housing, one above the other.The feed rolls have the additional function of providing the paper witha central, longitudinal fold-or crease line 24 and, to that end, thelower roll 20 tapers inwardly towards the center thereof and the upperroll 21 tapers outwardly towards its middle in a complemental, matingmanner.

The dispensing rotor 15 is fast on a shaft 25 having one end rotatablysupported by one side of the housing 10 with its other end within anindependently rotatable sleeve 26, as may be seen in FIGURE 7, supportedby the other housing side and provided with a crank handle 27. Thesleeve 26 and the shaft 25 are interconnected by a generally indicatedclutch 28 rendered operative when a coin 29 is insertedv in the coinslot 30.

The shaft 25 also is provided with a pulley 31 connected to a pulley 32on the roll shaft 22 by a belt 33 and with a ratchet wheel 34 engaged bya pivoted latch 35 as may be best seen in FIGURE 4, thus to permitrotation of the shaft 25 only in a paper delivering direction,counter-clockwise las the dispenser is viewed in the drawings.

The dispensing rotor 15 is located above the rear part of the receiver13 and is provided with a pair of diametrically opposed, outwardlyopening pockets 36 midway between its ends, each dimensioned to receiveand hold a predetermined volume of particles 37 from the container 38when it is positioned under t-he hopper 39 which so ts the rotor 15 asto block the lateral escape of the particles and provided with anarcuate trailing skirt 4() preventing escape of particles as a pocket 36moves under the hopper 39. The hopper 39 is removably supported by thecover 11 and is shown as having an `annular rim 41 to receive the mouthof the container 38. The cover 11 is also provided with an arcuateshield 42 preventing the escape of particles from a full pocket untilthe rotor is turned into a discharging position for that pocket,

The clutch 28, as may be best seen in FIGURES 6 and 7, consists of adisc 43 fast on the sleeve 26 and an abutting, somewhat larger, disc 44fast on the shaft 25. The

rear face of the disc 43 has a pocket 45 closed by the disc 44 andopening through its periphery, the pocket 45 being dimensioned toreceive and hold a coin 29 with a portion exposed for engagement with a4pin 46 carried by the disc 44 adjacent its periphery, therebyconnecting the discs 43 and 44 so that'they turn together. A spring 47yieldably holds the disc 43 with its stop pin 48 in engagement with astop shoulder 49 providing a normal position in which the pocket 45 isunder the coin slot 30. The disc 43 can be turned by the crank handle 27through with t-he stop pin 48 then engaging the stop shoulder 5t) inwhich .position of the disc 43, the pocket 45 is disposed downwardly todischarge its coin for later removal through the door 51. A shield 52prevents a coin from escaping from the pocket 45 until the discs havebeen turned through 180. When the coin drops from the pocket 45, thediscs 43 and 44 are no longer interconnected and when the crank yhandle27 is released, the spring `47 rotates the disc 43 back into its normalposition, the ratchet wheel 34, and the latch 35 holding the rotor 15against turning therewith.

When the crank handle 27 is turned manually to the extent permitted bythe stop shoulders 49 and 50, the dispensing rotor 15 has been turnedthrough 180 with one pocket 36 moved from a filling to its dischargingposition and the other pocket 36 moved from a discharging position toits filling position. At the same time the feed roll 20 has been rotatedto effect, in cooperation with the roll 21, the drawing of apredetermined length of paper from the roll 19 and the delivery of alength under the rotor 15 as a removable lining for the receiver 13, thelining 4having a V-shaped form. It will be noted that the paper stock iswide enough to extend beyond the ends of the rotor 15.

The gate 14, blocking access to the port 12, is supported by arms 52shown as extending into the housing through slots 53 when they aresupported by a transverse pivot 54. The rear ends of the arms 52 arepivotally connected to a cutter 55 vertically slidable in a slideway 56for entry into the slot |17 of the member 16, the cutting edge of thecutter being V-shaped as may be seen in FIGURE 5. In practice, theweight of the ports are such as to yieldably maintain lehe gate 14 inits closed position` When the gate 14 is raised to enable the purchaserto remove his purchase, the cutter 55 is moved downwardly to sever thelength of paper lining the receiver so that the purchased food particlesmay be removed by utilizing the severed and creased length as asupporting semi-wrap therefor.

I claim:

1. In a dispenser for loose, unwrapped food particles such as peanutsand loose candies, a paper roll, a recessed receiver, means to drawpaper from said roll and deliver a predetermined length thereof to saidreceiver, means to discharge a plurality of particles on said deliveredlength over said receiver, a gate blocking access to the deliveredlength and its load of food particles, and means operable by openingsaid gate to separate the delivered length from the paper rollrearwardly of said particle discharge means.

2. In a dispenser for loose, unwrapped, food particles such as peanutsand loose candies, a paper roll, a receiver, means to draw paper fromsaid roll and fold and deliver a predetermined length thereof to saidreceiver as a lengthwise valley, means to discharge a plurality ofparticles on said delivered length, a gate blocking access to thedelivered length and its load of food particles, and means operable byopening said gate to separate the delivered length from the paper roll.

3. In a dispenser for loose, unwrapped, food particles such as peanutsand loose candies, a paper roll, a receiver, a rotatable feed member todraw -paper from said roll and fold and deliver a predetermined lengththereof to said receiver as a lengthwise valley, means to discharge aplurality of particles on said delivered length and including arotatable delivering member, a drive including a driving connectionbetween said paper feed member and said particle delivering member, agate blocking access to the delivered length and its load of foodparticles, and means operable by opening said gate to separate thedelivered length from the paper roll.

4. In a dispenser for loose, unwrapped, food particles such as peanutsand loose candies, a paper roll, a receiver, a rotatable feed member todraw paper from said roll and fold and deliver a predetermined lengththereof to said receiver as a lengthwise valley, means to discharge aplurality of particles on said delivered length and including adelivering rotor, a drive including a driving connection between saidpaper feed member and said rotor, said drive including a manuallyoperable actuating unit, said unit including a pair of elementsconnectable by a disc of predetermined dimensions, a gate blockingaccess to the delivered length and its load of food particles, and meansoperable by opening said gate to separate the delivered length from thepaper roll.

5. The dispenser of claim 4 in which the manually operable actuatingdevice includes first and second independently rotatable, co-axialelements, each including a shoulder projecting towards the other, thefirst element including a crank, the second element being connected tosaid drive, resilient means yieldably maintaining the first element in afirst position in which the disc may be inserted between the shouldersof the elements to interconnect them, means to limit the extent to whichthe rst element may be rotated, the disc then being in a position todrop from between said shoulders by gravity, and means confining thedisc between the receiving and dropping positions.

6. In a dispenser for loose, unwrapped, food particles such as peanutsand loose candies, a paper roll, a receiver, a rotatable feed member todraw paper from said roll and fold and deliver a predetermined lengththereof to said receiver as a lengthwise valley, means to discharge aplurality of particles on said delivered length and including a rotorhaving a pocket in its side and rotatable between a first position inwhich the pocket is disposed upwardly to receive particles and a secondposition in which the pocket is disposed downwardly to discharge theparticles, means to retain the particles in the pocket between the twopositions, a drive for the rotatable member and the rotor including arotatable unit, said unit including two elements normally rotableindependently of each other and including shoulders spaced to beinterconnected by a disc of predetermined dimensions when the unit isrotatable between positions corresponding to the two positions of therotor, a gate blocking access to the delivered length and its load offood particles, and means operable by opening said gate to separate thedelivered length from the roll with its load of particles.

7. The dispenser of claim 6 in which the rotatable unit includes aspring operable to return one element of the unit to the positioncorresponding to the particle receiving position of the rotor and meansto prevent rotation of the rotor in that direction.

8. In a dispenser for loose, unwrapped, food particles such as peanutsand loose candies, a paper roll, a recessed receiver, means to drawpaper from said roll and deliver a predetermined length thereof as alengthwise valley, means to discharge a plurality of particles on saiddelivered length over said receiver, a gate blocking access to thedelivered length and its load of food particles, and a verticallymovable knife to separate the delivered length from the paper roll, atransversely pivotable arm interconnecting said gate and said knife.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 565,479 8/1896Maclay et al. 53-179 X 1,003,814 9/1911 Scofield 221--93 1,813,9357/1931 Knee 221--25 3,113,530 12/1963 Versterinark 221-93 FRANK E.BAILEY, Primary Examiner.

N. ABRAMS, Assistant Examiner.

1. IN A DISPENSER FOR LOOSE, UNWRAPPED FOOD PARTICLES SUCH AS PEANUTSAND LOOSE CANDIES, A PAPER ROLL, A RECESSED RECEIVER, MEANS TO DRAWPAPER FROM SAID ROLL AND DELIVER A PREDETERMINED LENGTH THEREOF TO SAIDRECEIVER, MEANS TO DISCHARGE A PLURALITY OF PARTICLES ON SAID DELIVEREDLENGTH OVER SAID RECEIVER, A GATE BLOCKING ACCESS TO THE DELIVEREDLENGTH AND ITS LOAD OF FOOD PARTICLES, AND MEANS OPERABLE BY OPENINGSAID GATE TO SEPARATE THE DELIVERED LENGTH FROM THE PAPER ROLLREARWARDLY OF SAID PARTICLE DISCHARGE MEANS.